Hedge fund life not so grand

Dignitaries and grandees who joined the boards of hedge funds in boom times are finding life over lunch isn't so grand these days.

The trend was best exemplified by US group Carlyle - at various times draping itself with the glory of an ex-president, George Bush Sr , a former secretary of state, James Baker , a man who presided over the Bundesbank, Karl Otto Pohl, and former UK prime minister Sir John Major .

At the London hedge fund Centaurus Capital those hired as advisers included Kenneth Clarke , the former UK chancellor, and José María Aznar , Spain's former prime minister. The GLG advisory board - which, as with the others, carries no legal duties - has boasted Sir Howard Davies , former chairman of the Financial Services Authority. Toscafund attracted Sir George Mathewson , former chairman of RBS, though that legacy has proved the least grand.

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